Junior Ranger “Recipe Book”
Deception Pass State Park
October, 2014
Jr. Ranger Background Information:
Jr. Rangers help keep the park clean. They learn and share what they learn with other people. Kids must do three things to get a Jr. Ranger badge:
1. Attend a program given by a ranger, volunteer, or camp host.
2. Complete a Jr. Ranger Activity Book and pick up litter.
3. Present completed Activity Book and litter to a ranger, park aide, camp host, at a program, or to the welcome station and say the Jr. Ranger Pledge.
Instructions for Jr. Ranger Badges:
Only give badges to children who show you a completed Jr. Ranger Activity Book. If the kids are older, make sure they have picked up trash too.
1. Look at the Activity Book to make sure they tried. If you have time, ask them a question or two. They get to keep the Activity Book.
2. Take their litter bag. If they don’t have it, ask them about it and ask them what kind of litter they found and where. Sometimes they want to keep the litter bag. That’s fine. Sometimes older kids won’t pick up litter. Don’t give the older kids a badge if they haven’t picked up any litter.
3. Ask if they have any questions.
4. Have them say a “Jr. Ranger pledge”
Jr. Ranger Pledge:
I, (name) am proud to be a Deception Pass State Park Jr Ranger. I promise I will not litter and I will help keep the park clean. I promise not to hurt or remove any animals from the park. Instead, I will learn about them. I promise to keep learning about the environment everywhere I go. I will share what I learn with my friends and family.
5. Congratulate them and give them a badge.
Activities
Adventure Hike:
Materials:
Backpack with
1. A Plan
2. Sturdy Shoes
3. A backpack
4. Water
5. A Map of the Area and Compass
6. First Aid Kit
7. Extra Layers
8. Snack or Lunch
9. Flashlight
10. Matches
11. Whistle
Instructions:
Discuss hiking safety and the importance of each item in your backpack. Then take a walk and point out interesting plants or animals. A good place to hike is up above the amphitheater, behind the Hilltop restroom, down the hill, and over to the red alders where the beavers have been chewing them.
Ideas for things to point out:
Cedar trees and their uses
Doug fir trees and special adaptations
Fire scars on Doug firs
Different ferns
Berries: salmon berries, huckleberries, salal, salmon. (Always caution children about poisonous berries.)
Invasive species
Can also have kids find things such as:
Something red that is not a leaf
Something yellow that is not a flower
Something blue
A seed
Two or three different flowers
Two or three different trees
An insect
An animal home
Something soft
Something smooth
Berries
And so on, and so forth…
Encourage kids to look around, observe, and ask questions. One activity is to have the kids lick their thumb and get their nose wet. Dogs have wet noses and it helps them smell things better. What do the kids smell when their noses are wet?
After the hike, hand out Jr. Ranger activity books and litter bags and tell kids (parents) how to get their badge – either at the next program, from a ranger, or from the welcome booth.
All the Colors of a Butterfly:
Materials:
Wooden clothespins (use good quality ones that have a strong spring.
Coffee filters
Pipe cleaners
Googly eyes (optional)
Watercolor markers
Spray bottles
Elmer’s glue or tacky glue
Western Butterflies Peterson Field Guides, by Paul A. Opler/Amy Bartlett Wright
Talking Points:
I. Butterflies are insects.
A. What is an insect? 1. Three part body: head, thorax, abdomen 2. Exoskeleton 3.Compound eyes 4.Six legs 5. Two antennae
II. Why do we like butterflies?
A. They’re pretty! What do these colors and patterns do?
1. Some are brightly colored to be a warning to other animals that they are poisonous.
a. Poisonous butterflies get their poison from plants they eat as caterpillars.
2. Some mimic or copy the colors of poisonous butterflies so animals will think they are poisonous.
3. Some use their colors to blend in to their surroundings to hide from other animals.
a. Often, butterflies’ wings are brightly colored on top and dull on the bottom. The dull bottom side blends in. Sometimes it has eye spots to trick predators into thinking it is a different animal. When wings are folded, the butterfly is hard to see from above.
4. Some butterflies use their colors to attract a mate.
a. Butterfly wings have iridescent scales and reflect UV light, which butterflies can see but humans can’t! Butterflies use these bright colors and UV colors to spot mates.
Instructions:
Each child gets one clothespin and two coffee filters. Flatten out the coffee filters and color each filter with watercolor markers. A few suggestions for how to color them: stripes, or a bull’s eye pattern. They don’t have to color every single bit of the filter. When children are done coloring, spray each filter lightly with water so that it is damp. Kids can choose if they want the filters layered when they are sprayed (colors will bleed between the two) or separated. While the coffee filters are drying, let them color the clothespin to make a caterpillar and glue on google eyes. The children can look at Western Butterflies for ideas if they want.
Now is a good time to talk about butterflies and insects and the butterfly life cycle. (See talking points below.)
When the coffee filters are almost dry, fold them accordion-style and clip the center in the clothespin. Spread the top and bottom coffee filters out to make wings. Pinch the center of a pipe cleaner in the clothespin to make antennae.
Extra notes:
I use a felt board and some pictures of butterflies to show some of the talking points. I have a monarch/viceroy pair and a pipevine swallowtail/red-spotted purple pair to demonstrate poisonous colors and mimicry and a picture of a goatweedleafwing and an imperial moth to demonstrate camouflage. Could use a few more pictures.
Salmon Program
Learn about the dangers salmon face and make a salmon kite.
Materials:
Paper with salmon outlines
Watercolor Paints
Paint Brushes
Cups for water
Glue Sticks or Tape
Pipe Cleaners
Sticks 2 to 3 feet long
Instructions:
Preparation: Make two mirrored outlines of salmon on a large piece of white paper ( x by x ). This is an excellent activity for volunteers to do! On the head side, fold the edge of the paper over a pipe cleaner and glue.
Set out water cups and paint sets.
Give each child a paper with salmon outline on it and a paint brush. Kids will share the paint sets and cups.
Each child can paint one paper. They should try to stay in the lines of the fish.
When they are done, wrap the fish in a circle forming a “wind sock” and attach it to a stick using the pipe cleaner or string.
Talking Points:
I. Salmon populations are dwindling because of human threats at every stage of the life cycle.
1. Egg (Redd)
A. Eggs need water of a certain temperature and oxygen content to develop.
i. Cutting down trees, logging
ii. Erosion from allowing cattle to graze near streams
iii. 20 out of 100 eggs survive to the next stage
2. Fry
A. Alevinneed places to hide and food to eat
i. Logs and tree branches in the water provide places for salmon to hide
ii. Also provide habitat for bugs to eat
3. Smolt
A. Smolt begin to migrate toward the sea and adapt to salt water and have to travel through dams along the way.
i. Lakes behind dams have little oxygen
ii. Attract predators
iii. Slow down the salmon on the way to the ocean.
iv. Pollution from sprays, fertilizers, runoff
4. Adult
A. Adult salmon feed in the ocean before returning to the stream they were born in.
i. Orcas, sea lions, seals, humans
ii. Upstream: fisherman, fish ladders, waterfalls, predators, dams
iii. Everything they experienced as a smolt going to the ocean
Box of Life or Mammals of Deception Pass:
See and touch furs and skulls of some of the mammals of Deception Pass State Park.
Materials:
River Otter Fur
Mink Fur
Deer Fur
Raccoon Fur
Beaver Fur
California Myotis Bat
Beaver Skull
River Otter Skull
Sea Lion Skull (optional)
Harbor Seal Skull (optional)
Instructions:
Keep all furs and skulls inside box. People will come up and touch them and ask questions before the presentation – stealing your thunder sometimes. Ask for volunteers from the audience to come up and hold a fur so that everyone can see it. Any order for the furs is ok, though it is best to leave the beaver fur and skull until last. All of the animals except the bat were found in DPSP. Some of them were hit by cars and some died of natural causes. This information can be a good transition into talking about driving responsibly in the park.
Ask the audience questions about each animal:
-What do you think this animal is?
-Where does it live?
-What does it eat?
- Discuss carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores in relation to each animal.
-When is it awake?
- Discuss nocturnal, diurnal, and crepuscular in relation to each animal.
-Have you ever seen this animal in real life, maybe the zoo or your yard?
-Do you know anything else cool about this animal?
Animal Specific Information:
River Otter: Carnivore, nocturnal, lives in den, love to play together and stay as a family. You might see otters in Bowman Bay or near Rosario Beach. These are not sea otters, but the river otters that live near the stream at Bowman Bay. Why do you think you see river otters in the saltwater? There is food there and near their den.
Mink: Related to river otter, weasel, ferret. Carnivore, nocturnal. Might be the most numerous mammal in DPSP, though you probably won’t see one while you are here. Why do you think that might be? They are small and very sneaky and only active at night. There used to be a mink farm outside of Oak Harbor and many of the mink escaped. They have done quite well! There are native, wild mink, but these are descendants of the domestic mink from the farm.
Deer: This is a hard one to guess because it has no head or legs. (This one was hit by a car.) Deer are herbivores and are crepuscular, which means they are active twice a day – dawn and dusk. Many people think this deer was a baby because it is so small. We know it was an adult because it doesn’t have spots.
Raccoon: Omnivore, scavenger, nocturnal, lives in trees or under houses and porches. They adapt very well to different environments which is why there are so many that live in towns. Raccoons are known for their habit of “washing” their food before they eat it. This is not to clean it but to help them digest it, like if you eat a soggy cracker or piece of bread. They are most closely related to ringtails and kinkajous.
Bat: Carnivore, nocturnal, lives in cave or tree or somewhere dark. Use echolocation to navigate through the night and find prey. Eats mostly insects and moths. Wings are hands, not like bird wings. Can talk about other bats here too.
Beaver: Beavers are North America’s largest rodent, and are related to rats and mice. They are nocturnal and herbivores. They eat trees and build their dams out of them. They live in their dam and mate for life. They use their tales to help them swim and to warn other beavers of danger. Sometimes their dams are so well built that they flood the area surrounding the dam and cause damage! Beavers have chewed down several alder trees at the north end of Cranberry Lake. Last but not least, beavers’ teeth never stop growing! Why do you think that might be? The beaver’s lower left front tooth can be pulled all the way out of the skull for a real crowd pleaser.
Sea lion and Harbor Seal: Carnivore, live in saltwater, eat fish and shellfish, never touch one or go near one if you see it on the shore. I don’t always bring these ones out in the interest of time.
Other notes: The “volunteers” are the only people who get to hold the furs. Once done discussing an animal, lay the fur out on the picnic table. Usually don’t let kids hold the skulls either. Everyone can touch everything gently at the conclusion of the program.
Meet Gracie, Gentle Giant of the Salish Sea
Gray whales have one of the longest migrations of any mammal and part of their epic journey brings them near Whidbey Island! See and touch a real gray whale skull and learn more about these incredible creatures.
Materials:
Dodge 1 ton pickup (with hitch)
Whale Trailer
Baleen
Gracie brochures
Laminated photos and maps
Tape measure
Instructions:
This program really runs itself. People are attracted to the whale skull like zombies to a shopping mall. I like to start by telling people about the Salish Sea, and about the Gray whale migration.
- Intro – about me, about Gracie
- Biggest Marine Mammal in the Salish Sea
- What is the Salish Sea?
- What do I mean by “mammal?”
- What do I mean by “marine?”
- Cetaceans
- Who knows what a Cetacean is? Can you name some?
- Whales
- Two Types
- Toothed (e.g. Ocra, Sperm, etc.)
- Baleen (e.g. … Grey Whale)
- Behavior
- Spy hopping, lob tailing, logging and breeching
- Grey Whale
- Size, anatomy – Rope (up to 50 feet), up to 36 tons (72,000 lbs)
- Gracie is an adult female.
- Baleen, diet – Benthic feeder, krill, benthic crustaceans
- Behavior, migration
- (Baja to Alaska, about 14,000 miles round trip, longest of any marine mammal).
- “Devilfish”
- Predation, conservation status
- Orcas, sharks, humans, pollution
- Nearly hunted to extinction in the early 1900s, were placed under protection in 1937 and taken off the endangered species list in 1994.
- This presentation was made possible by the Deception Pass Park Foundation. There is a donation box available here to help keep programs like this
I then let people ask questions.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Is it real? Yes. It is real.
Is it alive? No, it is dead.
How did it die? What I tell people: We think it died of old age. Real answer: We have no idea. But old age makes people feel better and then you don’t have to field a discussion about contaminated seawater, ocean acidification, and global warming.
Can we touch it? Of course! Please do not climb on the trailer or the skull. Both feet must stay on the ground.
Is it treated with something? It has been painted with a mixture of white paint and Elmer’s glue.
What are the bolts sticking in it? When the whale was alive it had muscles and skin that kept its bones together. That is all gone now, so we hold it together with some of the bolts. The other bolts hold it on the trailer.
What are the holes in its jaw? Those are holes for nerves to go to and from the brain. Whales do not have external ears, so they use their jaws to help them hear things under water.
What are these cracks in the skull? Our skulls are just one piece of bone, but whale skulls are made up of several plates. These plates can move so that the skull doesn’t get crushed by water pressure when the whale dives down.
What is this white stuff in its nose? That is just packing material. When we take the skull on the road, a lot of vibration occurs. The packing material helps stop all that vibrating.
Where are its teeth? Gray whales are baleen whales, so they don’t have teeth. The baleen is made out of keratin, the same material as your fingernails! Baleen whales are filter feeders, so they take in a big gulp of water, or in the gray whale’s case, mud, then raise their enormous tongue up, expelling the mud back out of the baleen. Everything that is too big to travel back out through the baleen gets swallowed! We find a lot of sneakers and tennis balls in their stomachs!
Where did you get it? The Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network helps marine mammals that get stranded on land. The ones that they aren’t able to save they give to educational and research organizations to study or use for teaching. This whale washed up at the South end of Whidbey Island in 2009. DPSP was lucky enough to get its head!